3 Chapter 2 London Lawyer

Chapter 2 London Lawyer Mohandas Gandhi packed up and said good-bye to his family, including Kasturbai and their new baby son, Harilal. He headed to Bombay, India, where he would board a ship to London, England. Before he left Bombay,

伦敦律师莫汉达斯·甘地收拾行装，告别了他的家人，包括卡斯图尔拜和他们刚出生的儿子哈里拉尔。 他前往印度孟买，在那里他将登上前往英国伦敦的船。 在离开孟买之前，

the leaders of the Modh Bania caste called him into a meeting. Traveling overseas was against the caste’s rules. They thought he would be tempted to break the rules of Hinduism while in England. If he went, then he would be kicked out of the Modh Bania caste and treated as an untouchable. Courageously, Gandhi still went. He was only eighteen years old when he set sail from Bombay on September 4, 1888.

莫德巴尼亚种姓的领导人把他叫进了一个会议。 出国旅行是违反种姓制度的。 他们认为他在英国时可能会违反印度教的规定。 如果他去了，那么他将被踢出莫德巴尼亚种姓，并被视为贱民。 甘地还是勇敢地去了。 1888年9月4日，他从孟买启航时只有18岁。

Gandhi had a hard time fitting into a country so unlike his own. “Everything was strange—the people, their ways, and even their dwellings,” he later wrote. He tried hard to become an “English gentleman.” He spent a lot of money on a new suit, a top hat, silver-tipped cane, and leather gloves. He took lessons in manners, dance, French, and violin, like other Englishmen. But none of that helped his loneliness and homesickness. Eating in London was hard for Gandhi, too. Before he left India, he had promised his mother that he would not eat meat. But finding vegetarian meals in London was difficult. Since Gandhi was

甘地很难融入一个与自己祖国截然不同的国家。 “一切都很奇怪——人们，他们的生活方式，甚至他们的住所，”他后来写道。 他努力成为一名“英国绅士”。他花了很多钱买了一套新衣服、一顶大礼帽、一根银头手杖和一双皮手套。 他像其他英国人一样学习礼仪、舞蹈、法语和小提琴。 但这一切都无法缓解他的孤独和思乡之情。 在伦敦吃饭对甘地来说也很困难。 在他离开印度之前，他答应过他的母亲，他不会吃肉。 但在伦敦找到素食餐并不容易。 因为甘地

shy, he didn’t ask his hosts or waiters if they could make other choices for him. Vegetables tasted bland without the spices of home.

害羞的他没有问主人或服务员是否可以为他做其他选择。 没有了家乡的香料，蔬菜尝起来很淡。

THE CASTE SYSTEM IN INDIA IN TRADITIONAL HINDUISM AND INDIAN CULTURE, PEOPLE WERE DIVIDED INTO DIFFERENT SOCIAL LEVELS, OR CASTES. RELIGIOUS PRIESTS AND TEACHERS MADE UP THE HIGHEST CASTE CALLED BRAHMANS. NEXT CAME KSHATRIYAS, THE WARRIORS AND ROYALTY. GANDHI’S FAMILY BELONGED TO THE NEXT CASTE—THE VAISHYAS—IN A SMALLER SUBGROUP CALLED THE MODH BANIAS. THE VAISHYA CASTE INCLUDED LANDOWNERS, MERCHANTS, AND FARMERS. THE SUDRAS MADE UP THE LOWEST CASTE. THESE WERE WORKERS AND CRAFTSMEN. PEOPLE COULD NOT MARRY MEMBERS OUTSIDE THEIR CASTE. THEY WERE NOT EVEN ALLOWED TO SHARE A MEAL WITH THEM!

种姓制度在印度传统印度教和印度文化中，人们被划分为不同的社会阶层，或称种姓。 宗教牧师和教师构成了最高种姓，称为婆罗门。 接下来是刹帝利，战士和皇室。 甘地的家族属于下一个种姓——维希雅——一个更小的被称为莫德巴尼亚的分支。 vaishya种姓包括地主、商人和农民。 陀罗是最低的种姓。 他们是工人和工匠。 人们不能与自己种姓以外的人通婚。 他们甚至不允许和他们一起吃饭!

ONE GROUP OF PEOPLE WERE CONSIDERED SO LOW, THEY WERE OUTSIDE THE CASTE SYSTEM. THEY WERE CALLED UNTOUCHABLES. UNTOUCHABLES HAD THE DIRTIEST JOBS, SUCH AS SWEEPING STREETS, CLEANING UP HUMAN WASTE, AND HANDLING GARBAGE. IN 1950, UNTOUCHABLES WERE GIVEN EQUAL RIGHTS UNDER LAW. TODAY, THE TERM DALIT REFERS TO THOSE ONCE CALLED UNTOUCHABLES. THE CASTE SYSTEM IS NO LONGER A PART OF THE EVERYDAY FABRIC OF MODERN INDIA. AND EVEN THOUGH DISCRIMINATION AGAINST DALIT INDIVIDUALS IS AGAINST THE LAW, MANY STILL FACE PREJUDICE, ESPECIALLY IN RURAL AREAS.

有一群人被认为地位很低，他们在种姓制度之外。 他们被称为贱民。 贱民做的是最脏的工作，比如清扫街道、清理人类排泄物和处理垃圾。 1950年，贱民被依法赋予了平等的权利。 今天，达利特这个词指的是那些曾经被称为贱民的人。 种姓制度已不再是现代印度日常生活的一部分。 尽管歧视达利特人是违法的，但许多人仍然面临偏见，尤其是在农村地区。